The Wolf Among Us: the terrible tragedy of Mr. Toad

By Stephen Wilds, ContributorBased on Fables from DC Comics, The Wolf Among Us is a fantastic story full of engaging and familiar characters from tales of old. Telltale did a wonderful job of taking these stories and translating their twisted world into video games, placing players in the shoes of Sheriff Bigby Wolf as he struggles to unravel a mystery before more of his kind turn up dead. During the investigation, the most engrossing person of interest we meet isn’t a suspect, but Mr. Toad, a tragic example of everything wrong in Fabletown.    

Mr. Toad isn’t a major player in the main story, but he is the first person Bigby speaks to, and he’s the focus of a secondary plot throughout the episodes. His call sets the events of the game into motion, but he quickly wishes he hadn’t, as the altercation goes on to further damage the building he’s the superintendent of.

This makes Toad angry—well, angrier—and although it’s justified this time, he’s always upset about something. This short green amphibian is snarky, rude, cynical, a little manipulative, and keeps showing up despite the circumstances, but he also has some of the best dialogue and comebacks in the game. We see him insult his friends and neighbors, and even curse in front of his son. However, he does occasionally show that he cares about each of these individuals, especially Toad Jr (TJ).

The problem comes from Toad’s appearance, as those Fables who can’t pass for humans have to buy expensive glamor spells to hide amongst the mundane population. Toad believes these cantrips to be a rip-off, however, and stubbornly refuses to spend his money on them. “Bigby, they’re bleedin’ me dry, mate,” he says. “The quality of the spell goes down, but the rates keep climbing up. Do you have any idea how much it costs to have an entire family in glamor?”

Toad has been vocally against these policies for years, as forcing everyone to require these magics has become somewhat of a class issue. He believes the poorer Fables are seen as inconsequential. In the end, his blatant disrespect lands him with an ultimatum: acquire a glamor or be shipped off to The Farm, a place where Fables who can’t pass for humans are sent, but also aren’t allowed to leave—many refer to it as a prison. In Toad’s words, “this world isn’t kind to those of us who can’t pass for human,” and he is a prime example of that.  

His struggles are engaging, almost as much as the main mystery, and the decisions we make surrounding Toad and his son are some of the most emotionally charged in the game. The final scene with Toad and TJ is genuinely heartbreaking. Our time with him is a big part of what makes the game worth playing. Sadly, there’s no happily ever after in this world, but a complex and flawed character like Toad—someone who was royalty in a former life and can barely scrape by now—feels too real to be a fairy tale.

The Wolf Among Us is available on the Epic Games Store.